December 26 1964: Lesley Ann Downey, 10, lured away from a funfair to her fate.

October 6 1965: Edward Evans, 17, died in a hail of axe blows, a murder witnessed by Hindley's brother-in-law, who tips off police, triggering the investigation which leads to the discovery of John and Lesley's bodies in shallow graves on Saddleworth Moor, Manchester.

May 6 1966: Brady given life for the murders of Kilbride, Downey and Evans at Chester Assizes. Hindley convicted of killing Downey and Evans and shielding Brady after Kilbride's murder, for which she received life and an additional seven years.

1972: Relations between Hindley and Brady sour.

1974: Hindley given another year's sentence after being convicted of plotting to escape from Holloway prison with the help of an officer said to have fallen in love with her.

1978: Hindley attacked so viciously in Holloway that she needed plastic surgery to rebuild her face.

1987: Hindley and Brady confess to the murders of Pauline Reade and Keith Bennett. After a series of separate visits to Saddleworth Moor by the pair, the body of Pauline is uncovered. Keith's body is never found and the search is eventually called off.

1990: The then home secretary, David Waddington, rules life will mean life for Myra Hindley.

1994: Hindley is informed of the decision.

1997: Successive home secretaries Michael Howard and then Jack Straw confirm the full life tariff for Hindley. A portrait of Hindley made from handprints of children is attacked at the controversial Royal Academy Sensation exhibition.

1998: Appeal Court upholds home secretary's ruling. Hindley moved from top security H Wing in Durham to medium security Highpoint prison in Suffolk and makes claims that she was blackmailed by Brady into taking part in the murders.

1999: Ann West, the mother of victim Lesley Ann Downey, dies of liver cancer in February. In December Hindley is rushed to hospital after being found collapsed in her cell.

2000: Hindley, diagnosed as suffering from a cerebral aneurysm, instructs her solicitors not to keep her alive artificially if an operation on her brain goes wrong and to refuse permission for any of her organs to be transplanted.

October 2002: Lawyers acting for three convicted killers launch House of Lords appeal which could pave for Hindley to seek her freedom.